Kelly LeVeque’s Tips for Keeping Nutrition—and Life—Simple

Kelly LeVeque is pretty well-versed in the nuances of nutrition and health—she had an eight-year career in cancer and genetics, after all. But it’s her unerring ability to digest all that complicated science talk and present it a way the average person (that’s us) can understand that’s made her a wellness guru to stars like Jessica Alba, Emmy Rossum, and Chelsea Handler.

Here, Kelly LeVeque breaks down three ways to keep your life from feeling overly complicated, so you can meet your goals head on.

1. Get Educated

“What I think I do really well is take really complicated science and make it accessible to my clients. I make it accessible, I use a lot of analogies. And that allows them to be successful for themselves because the minute you know the science or you’re educated, then you’re self-motivated. When it comes to reading a diet book or trying to keep up with that stuff, if you don’t really love it and the end goal is just to get rid of migraines, get rid of acne, or lose five pounds, they really have to understand a little bit of the science for it to become a lifestyle.”

2. Fill Your Plate with the Fab 4

“You have over eight hunger-related hormones regulated by different things. Protein, fat, fiber, and leafy green vegetables do a really good job of turning off hunger. All I do is ask my clients to look at their plate: Do you have protein, do you have some kind of healthy fat, do you have some kind of fiber, and then leafy greens? It’s amazing, because it’s become sort of a lifestyle for people. They don’t have an eat and do not eat list, they’re not on something for a specific period of time and breaking their diet, it isn’t really detail-oriented. You essentially need amino acids, you need fatty acids, and the fiber and greens piece really keeps your gut microbiome proliferating and healthy and in an anti-inflammatory state. Make it simple, and so then it’s doable.”

3. Make Time to Move

Be active. I grew up playing soccer and playing track and it’s my meditation. That’s when my mind is quiet—when I’m so tired and I’ve run my body down. Then I’ll breathe deeply and that’s when I can take it down a notch.

For more from Kelly LeVeque, listen to the Spartan Up! podcast in its entirety.